Vincent Lai witnessed another week of world class football in the Champions League, with the emphasis squarely on the attacking side of the football.

Defending was at a premium as teams sought to take their games by the scruff of the neck, which led to aggressive, scintillating action across the European continent over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Rüştü Reçber - Besiktas

The Turkish goalkeeper was a force in between the sticks, closing down every Manchester United chance with his excellent speed, agility and positional sense. Rüştü produced two acrobatic saves near the end of the match to deny Federico Macheda and Wes Brown a share of the points at Old Trafford.

Dani Alves - Barcelona

Was a terror on the right flank for Barca as he embarrassed the Inter Milan defence going forward. The Brazilian fullback got to the byline at will and supplied Pedro with a looping cross for La Blaugrana second goal.

Benoît Trémoulinas - Bordeaux

Trémoulinas probably played the game of his young career as he patrolled the left flank with poise, pace and purpose, shackling Juventus' Mauro Camoranesi and generally giving the Bianconeri defence fits when he overlapped into the final third.

Gerard Pique - Barcelona

The centre-back performed his defensive duties well throughout the game, but that's not the reason he's on this list. With the game into its tenth minute, Pique managed to leave Thiago Motta in his dust, as he evaded his opposition number to charge towards the ball and head it past a shell-shocked Julio Cesar, giving Barca the lead and the momentum in their clash.

Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid

Ramos really didn't have to defend much in Real's game against FC Zurich with the hosts controlling the game all the way. Instead, the defender could take part in the various raids on the Swiss side's goal, coming close to scoring on many occasions.

Pedro - Barcelona

The diminutive winger took his chance extremely well in the game, arriving in the box just on time to volley the ball past a flapping Cesar to double Barca's lead in a game that La Blaugrana won 2-0 against a hapless Inter Milan side.

Kaka - Real Madrid

The Brazilian midfield maestro pulled the strings flawlessly for Los Blancos, always able to find players in space with his passes and was able to get a few shots in himself. Kaka recorded an assist against Zurich when his through-ball found Gonzalo Higuain, who made no mistake in front of goal.

Samir Nasri - Arsenal

 The Gunners youngster had an incredible game for the north London side, finding space in the penalty area frequently where a lesser player would have found none. Nasri's mobility served him well as Thomas Vermaelen's long ball found him free in the box, and the Frenchman powered a half-volley home.

Xavi - Barcelona

Was the heart of La Blaugrana in their game against Inter Milan. Xavi kept the mighty Barcelona attack moving when things stalled, and knew when to tone things down when he felt that the reigning European champions where committing too much in the final third. The midfielder took his freekicks well and was close to bagging a brace on Tuesday night.

Gonzalo Higuaín - Real Madrid

Higuaín was the star of Los Merengues' frontline on Wednesday night, providing a threat for the hosts on the attack and was a handful for the Zurich defence. 'El Pipita' took his goal well for Real when he latched on to Kaka's through-ball to score Los Blancos' only goal of the game.

Marouane Chamakh - Bordeaux

The French-born Moroccan striker displayed an excellent motor as his constant off-the-ball activity stretched the Juve defence, leaving many holes for his team-mates to exploit. Chamakh gifted his team many extra opportunities in the form of freekicks as the Bianconeri were forced to foul when they could not contain his many runs. Capped off an excellent outing against the Italian giants with a close-range finish deep into stoppage time.